Garment display system

ABSTRACT

A garment display system having a garment-receiving section and a garment-identification section. The garment-identification section associated with the garment-receiving section to properly identify the garments in the garment-receiving section. The garment-identification section is disposed on the garment display system in visual association next to the garment-receiving section. The garment-identification section may also be used to cover a portion of garments in the garment-receiving section. A plurality of garment-receiving sections is assembled together to form a garment display module. Garment-receiving sections in a module are separated by separators. Each garment-receiving section in a module is in visual association with its related garment-identification section. A plurality of modules can be superposed to create a garment display system efficiently using the floor space in a store.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This United-States nonprovisional application relates to and claimspriority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/764,777filed Feb. 3, 2006, titled GARMENT DISPLAY SYSTEM, included herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

In retail stores, there are a variety of types of garments for sale,including pants, shirts, underwear, etc. Furthermore, each such type ofgarment comes in a larger number of models, sizes, colors, etc. Toassist shoppers at these retail stores in identifying variouscharacteristics of the garments of interest to the shopper, the garmentsare displayed in a variety of ways.

Garments suspended on hangers and installed side by side on a rack or adisplay are mostly only visible by their side portion. A shopper mustmake space between the garments to appreciate the details or find theappropriate size. Under these circumstances it is difficult to maintaina clean and ordered rack presenting the garments.

Tags can be applied to hangers so as to identify the sizes of garments,e.g. shirts or pants, which are suspended from these hangers. Such tagscan be color-coded to provide such information about the garments.Larger tags can also be installed on the pole supporting the hangers toseparate different sizes of the same garment. These tags can displaylimited information to the shopper and most of the time do not preventthe potential buyer from displacing the garments to seek additionalinformation.

Standard racks or displays presenting garments are designed toaccommodate standard size garments. Standard racks are not particularlyspace efficient for storing and presenting specific size garments. Theloss in storage space translates into a poor use of the space availablein the line of sight of shoppers.

Standard racks offer very few different ways to show the garments. Thepossibilities available are often not optimal for a specific type ofgarments and may not show the product in its most attractive layout.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to address the above and other drawbacks, a display systemorganizing garments in such a way that a shopper can appreciate specificdetails of garments without having to manipulate the garments isprovided.

One object of the present invention provides a storage module forstoring a plurality of garments and adapted for mounting on a supportframe, each of the garments suspended from a hanger, the modulecomprising a plurality of garment receiving sections, each of thesections separated from an adjacent section by a separator; an elongatedhanger support disposed horizontally and spanning each of the sections;and a plurality of displays, each of the displays associated with acorresponding one of the sections.

Another object of the present invention provides a system for displayinga plurality of garments, each of the garments suspended by a hanger, thesystem comprising a support frame; a garment display secured to theframe; wherein the display comprises a plurality of garment receivingsections, each of the sections separated from an adjacent section by aseparator; an elongated hanger support disposed horizontally andspanning each of the sections; and a plurality of displays, one of eachof the displays associated with a corresponding one of the sections.

One other object of the present invention provides a garment displaysystem for organizing garments having distinctive features not visiblefrom the line of sight of a shopper when garments are supported by thegarment display system and presenting the distinctive feature of thegarments such that the shopper would know the location of each garmentin the garment display system without manipulating the garments, thegarment display system comprising: a frame; a first garment displaymodule secured to the frame; and a second garment display module securedto the frame and disposed under the first garment display module;wherein each garment display module comprises a plurality of garmentreceiving sections, each of the garment receiving sections separatedfrom an adjacent garment receiving sections by a separator; an elongatedhanger support disposed horizontally and spanning each garment receivingsection; and a means for identifying a distinctive feature of thegarments contained in each of the garment receiving sections.

Another object of the present invention provides a method for presentinga plurality of garments having distinctive features in a garment displaysystem, the method comprising the steps of: installing a first visualrepresentation of a first distinctive feature of a first garment in afirst garment identification section of the display system; suspending afirst garment on a hanger in a first garment receiving section of thegarment display system, the first garment being in a position whichprecludes the first distinctive feature of the first garment fromdirectly being in the line of sight of a buyer; installing a secondvisual representation of a second distinctive feature of a secondgarment in a second garment identification section of the displaysystem; and suspending a second garment on a hanger in a second garmentreceiving section of the garment display system, the second garmentbeing in a position precluding the second distinctive feature of thesecond garment to directly be in the line of sight of a buyer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in combinationwith the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a garment display system supported by asupport in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention wherein garments are suspended on hangers in garment receivingsections for illustration purposes;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the garment display system of FIG.1 without suspended garments;

FIG. 3 is a right elevational view of the garment display system of FIG.1 with a similar garment display system disposed on the opposite side ofthe support;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the rear portion of the garment displaysystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the garment display system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the garment display system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view of the garment display system of FIG.1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the garment display system of FIG. 1,wherein the upper garment identification section is slightly movedvertically;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the garment display system of FIG. 1,wherein the upper garment identification section is moved forward;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the garment display system of FIG. 1,wherein the upper garment identification section is pivoted downward;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the garment display system of FIG. 1,wherein the upper garment identification section is further pivoteddownward;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the garment display system of FIG. 1,wherein the garment identification sections are progressively removedfrom the upper garment identification section;

FIG. 13 illustrates a magnified perspective view of the higher garmentidentification section of the garment display system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 14 is a left elevational view of the lower garment identificationsection removed from the garment receiving section to which it isassociated.

It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like featuresare identified by like reference numerals.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention, a garment display system 10 is shown. The garmentdisplay system comprises a lower garment receiving module 40 and anupper garment receiving module 50. Each garment receiving module 40, 50includes a plurality of garment identification sections 44, each garmentidentification section 44 associated with a garment receiving section42, 52. Garments, illustratively T-shirts 14, are illustrativelysuspended on hangers within the garment display system in a compactarrangement.

The garment display system 10 includes a support 12 providinginterconnection between the garment receiving modules 40, 50. Tworeceiving modules connected to support 12 are depicted on FIG. 1. Thesupport 12 maintains a lower garment receiving module 40 and an uppergarment-receiving module 50 at a desired height. The garment receivingmodules 40, 50 may be permanently connected or removably fastened to thesupport 12 to allow various display configurations.

The support 12 includes two main vertical members manufactured from arigid material such as metal within which a plurality of openings 36 aremachined or otherwise formed. These openings 36 are sized and designedto cooperate with hooks 34 disposed on the rear portion of each module40, 50. Each hook 34 enters in a respective opening 36 on the support12. The distribution of openings 36 on the sides of the vertical membersof the support 12 allows various vertical positioning of the garmentreceiving modules 40, 50.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the support 12 disclosed in the illustrativeembodiment is a standard metallic support having two vertical membersspaced apart 28 by about 1219 mm (48 inches). The width 24 of support 12is substantially comparable to the width 24 of garment receiving modules40, 50. The legs 38 on the bottom portion of the support 12 are longenough to provide sufficient stability when the garment display systemis fully loaded. Other types of supports 12 are available in the art ofdesigning and manufacturing garment display systems and could performthe same function without departing from the scope of the presentinvention.

Still referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the lower module 40 includes aplurality of garment receiving sections 42 and an equivalent number ofgarment identification sections 44. The structure defining the pluralityof garment receiving sections 42 creating the lower module 40 is heldtogether by frame members 32. Similarly, the structure defining theplurality of garment identification sections 44 is held together byframe members 32. In the illustrative embodiment, four garment receivingsections 42 and four garment identification sections 44 are equallydisposed 22 on the overall width 28 of lower module 40. Each garmentreceiving section 42 has an associated garment identification section44.

Each garment identification section 44 generally comprises atwo-dimensional graphic representation related to the garment 14 locatedin the garment receiving section 42 located adjacent thereto andassociated therewith as set forth hereinafter. In the illustrativeembodiment the garment identification section 44 can accommodate onegraphic representation of a garment in various configurations. A flatgarment identifier insert 72 is installed in a frame 74 via a frameopening 76. A curved, convex or concave (not shown) garmentidentification section 44 could also be used for representing a specificaspect of a garment contained in an associated garment receiving section42. More than one garment identification insert 72 can be installed in asingle garment identification section 44 thus identifying more than asingle type of garment located in a single garment receiving section 44without departing from the scope of the present invention. For instance,two flat identification inserts 72 can be installed in a forwardlyextending “V” supported by a metallic frame having also a forwardlyextending “V” shape (not shown) performing substantially the samefunctions as frame 74.

The spatial relationship between the garment identification section 44and the garment receiving section 42 informs a shopper which garmentidentification section 44 relates to a corresponding garment receivingsection 42. In the present embodiment the garment identification section44 is disposed on top of its corresponding garment receiving section 42.Illustratively, the consistent vertical alignment between garmentreceiving and identifying sections 42, 44 creates a recognizablerelationship between the receiving and identifying sections 42, 44. As aresult, it is easier for a shopper to see the specifics of differenttypes of clothes displayed on garment identification sections 44 andassociate them with a corresponding garment receiving section 42. Theshopper thus can remove the desired garment from the selected garmentreceiving section 42. In other words, the garments 14 bearing a samedesign “A” will be placed in a given garment receiving section 42 andthe garment identification section 44 associated therewith will includea corresponding representation of design “A”. Other positioning betweena garment identification section 44 and a corresponding garmentreceiving section 42 is considered within the realm of the presentinvention.

Still referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, each garment receiving section 42is laterally defined by separators 18. The separator 18 acts as aphysical barrier separating garments of different design or havingdifferent selling features. Illustratively, shirts 14 having differentlogos or designs on their front face are suspended on the elongatedhanger support 30 grouped together and compartmentalized by separators18. Separators 18 thus define the lateral boundaries of the garmentreceiving section 42.

In the illustrative embodiment the elongated hanger support 30 isperpendicularly disposed in relation to separator 18. The position ofthe hangers suspended on the elongated hanger support 30 in garmentreceiving section 42 is dictated by the position of the elongated hangersupport 30 in the garment receiving section 42. Illustratively, a seriesof T-shirts 14 suspended on hangers supported by the elongated hangersupport 30 are disposed in a parallel array between separators 18 in thegarment-receiving sections 42 and are mainly only visible from the side.The design printed on the T-shirt 14 is thus hidden from the shopper'sview. This becomes even more difficult if the T-shirts as in 14 aretightly disposed within the garment-receiving sections 42 to maximizefloor space. Furthermore, for a shopper to be able to see each availabledesign, he/she would have to go through the garments 14 of each garmentreceiving section 42. However, with the garment display system 10, thedesign printed on the T-shirt 14 is identified by the garmentidentification section 44. The shopper is thus capable of selecting thedesired garment without manually forcing away every T-shirt 14 from oneanother so as to reveal their respective designs.

As best seen in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the garment identification section 44of lower garment receiving module 40 is superimposed by the garmentreceiving section 52 of the upper garment receiving module 50.Illustratively, again herein T-shirts 14 have more of their lowerportions hidden behind the garment-identification sections 44 of loweradjacent garment receiving module 40. This increases the number and/orsize of garment display modules that can be installed on a support 12for the same display height. This is permitted by the fact that accessto the garments is no longer necessary, in view of the provision ofgarment identification sections 44, to a shopper desiring to view theunique feature of a garment. The shopper only needs to access thegarment receiving sections 42 when he/she wishes to remove therefrom agarment that has been pre-selected using the garment identificationsections 44.

Each garment identification section 44 further includes an identifierportion 26. The identifier portion 26 is sized and designed toaccommodate a price tag or a bar-code label providing additionalinformation about the garment contained in their associated garmentreceiving section 42. The additional information provided on theidentifier portion 26 may help to quickly and precisely refer to aspecific garment.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the garment display system 10 uses a support 12providing interconnection between a plurality of garment receivingmodules 40, 50. Two receiving modules are connected to the right side ofthe support 12. Additional modules may be installed on the opposite sideof the support 12. Each garment receiving module 40, 50 can beindividually adjusted to a desired height on the support 12.

Illustratively, the upper garment-receiving module 50 is substantiallysimilar to the lower garment receiving module 40 described hereinabove.However, significant differences exist in the structure of the uppergarment identification section 54 compared to the structure of the lowergarment identification section 44. As best seen on FIG. 3, onedifference is the angle of the upper garment identification section 54slightly facing downward as opposed to the lower garment identificationsection 44 that is vertically disposed. This difference results from thedifferent positions of the garment receiving modules 40, 50 on thesupport 12. The lower garment receiving module 40 is disposed lower onthe support 12, garment identification section 44 is substantiallyaligned with the line of sight of a shopper of average height andstanding in front of the garment display system 10. The upper garmentreceiving module is disposed higher on the support 12. The garmentidentification section 54 is positioned facing downward substantially inline with the line of sight of a shopper of normal height and standingin front of the garment display system 10.

FIGS. 4-7 depict different additional views for better understanding afurther difference between the connecting structure of the upper garmentidentification section 54 and the connecting structure of the lowergarment identification section 44. Referring more specifically to FIG.4, the garment identification section 44 is removably secured to thegarment receiving section 42 using legs 46 and receptacles 48. The leg46 is illustratively inserted in the receptacle 48 affixed to separator18. The garment identification section 44 can be dismounted from thegarment receiving section 42 by removing the leg 46 from the receptacle48. This is convenient and less cumbersome when installing thegarment-receiving module 40 on the support 12. The garmentidentification section 44 may also be removed for maintenance purposeswhen the garment identification inserts 72 need to be replaced in orderto represent new types of garments supported in their respective garmentreceiving sections 42.

The upper garment identification section 54 comprises a differentconnecting structure than that of the lower garment identificationsection 44. The upper garment identification section 54 is securedsignificantly higher on the support 12 and this is typically difficult,if not impossible, to update the garment identification inserts 72without using a step-ladder. The upper garment identification section 54is secured to the upper garment receiving section 52 via a proximal endof a first track member 62 that is slidable, on its distal end, onto asecond track member 60. The movement is guided by an insert 64 securedto the distal end of the first track member 62 and moving along a slot58 in the second track member 60. Other ways of removably securing ormoveably fastening the garment identification section 44 to the garmentreceiving section 42 are intended to fall within the scope of thepresent invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 8-13 it is possible to appreciate the movements70 of the upper garment identification section 54 alternating between agarment identification position (as depicted on FIG. 1) and amaintenance position depicted on FIG. 12. The first movement 70 ₁, asillustrated in FIG. 8 comprises moving the upper garment identificationsection 54 upwardly unlocking the safety mechanism consisting of a pin68 disposed on the proximal end of the first track member 60 engaginghook 66. The second movement 70 ₂ depicted on FIG. 9 comprises pullingforward the upper garment identification section 54 along the secondtrack member 60. The third movement 70 ₃ depicted on FIG. 10 comprisespivoting the second track member 60 about the insert 64 bringingdownward the upper garment identification section 54. FIG. 11 representsthe maintenance position of the upper garment identification section 54when pin 68 contacting separator 18 stops movement 70. In themaintenance position the frame openings 76 of the garment identificationsection 54 are at a level where it is possible to easily remove thegarments identification inserts 72 as it can be appreciated on FIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 13 it is possible to appreciate a magnified view ofthe mechanism fastening the garment identification section 54 thuspreventing undesirable movement. Vertically moving the garmentidentification section 54 disengages pin 68 from hook 66. Once the pin68 is disengaged from the hook 66 the garment identification section 54can be pulled forward long the slot 58.

FIG. 14 is a side view of a lower garment identification section 44removed from the garment display system 10. Frame 74 has on opening 76on its upper portion to allow removal of garment identification inserts72 (not shown on FIG. 14 although they are contained in frame 74).Identifier portion 26 is disposed on the frame 74. Leg 46 is connectedto frame 74 and is sized and designed to mate with its relatedreceptacle 48 (not shown on FIG. 14). The actual shape of the leg 46influences the position of the garment identification section 44 on thegarment display system 10.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that variations ormodifications may be made to the garment display system disclosed in thespecification and drawings without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. Furthermore, persons of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the garment display system described and illustratedmerely represents the best mode of implementing the invention known tothe Applicant; however, it should be understood that other mechanisms orconfigurations, using similar or different components, can be used toimplement the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments of theinvention described above are only intended to be exemplary. The scopeof the invention is limited solely by the claims.

1. A storage module for storing a plurality of garments and adapted for mounting on a support frame, each of the garments suspended from a hanger, the module comprising: a plurality of garment receiving sections, each of the sections separated from an adjacent section by a separator; an elongated hanger support disposed horizontally and spanning each of the sections; and a plurality of displays, each of the displays associated with a corresponding one of the sections.
 2. The storage module of claim 1, wherein said separator is substantially flat and further said elongated hanger support is at a right angle to said separator.
 3. The storage module of claim 1, wherein the storage module is mounted to the support frame using a at least two fasteners spaced apart by a distance of about 1219 mm.
 4. The storage module of claim 1, wherein said display further comprises a display surface substantially perpendicular to the separator.
 5. The storage module of claim 1, wherein said display further comprises a frame adapted to receive an identification insert.
 6. The storage module of claim 1, wherein said identification insert is removable from the support frame.
 7. The storage module of claim 1, wherein said displays are moveable between a display position and a maintenance position.
 8. The storage module of claim 7, wherein said display moves along a track.
 9. The storage module of claim 8, further comprising a mechanism for precluding undesired movement of said display in respect to said track.
 10. The storage module of claim 1, wherein said plurality of garment receiving sections comprises four garment receiving sections.
 11. The storage module of claim 1, wherein each of said displays comprises an identifier.
 12. The storage module of claim 1, wherein said separator is substantially flat and further comprises at least one rounded edge.
 13. A system for displaying a plurality of garments, each of the garments suspended by a hanger, the system comprising: a support frame; a garment display secured to the frame; wherein the display comprises a plurality of garment receiving sections, each of the sections separated from an adjacent section by a separator; an elongated hanger support disposed horizontally and spanning each of the sections; and a plurality of display sections, one of each of the display sections being associated with a corresponding one of the garment receiving sections.
 14. The garment display system of claim 13, wherein said display section is moveable between a display position and a maintenance position.
 15. The garment display system of claim 13, wherein said garment display is secured to said frame using at least two fasteners disposed at a distance of about 1219 mm.
 16. The garment display system of claim 13, wherein each of said garment receiving sections further comprises an identifier associated therewith.
 17. The garment display system of claim 13, wherein said separator is substantially flat and comprises round edges distal from the support frame.
 18. A garment display system for organizing garments having distinctive features not visible from the line of sight of a shopper when garments are supported by the garment display system and presenting the distinctive feature of the garments such that the shopper would know the location of each garment in the garment display system without manipulating the garments, the garment display system comprising: a frame; a first garment display module secured to the frame; and a second garment display module secured to the frame and disposed under the first garment display module; wherein each garments display module comprises a plurality of garment receiving sections, each of the garment receiving sections separated from an adjacent garment receiving section by a separator; an elongated hanger support disposed horizontally and spanning each garment receiving section; and a means for identifying a distinctive feature of the garments contained in each of the garment receiving sections.
 19. The garment display system of claim 18, wherein the means for identifying a distinctive feature of the garments is moveable between a display position and a maintenance position.
 20. A method for presenting a plurality of garments having distinctive features in a garment display system, the method comprising the steps of: installing a first visual representation of a first distinctive feature of a first garment in a first garment identification section of the display system; suspending a first garment on a hanger in a first garment receiving section of the garment display system, the first garment being in a position which precludes the first distinctive feature of the first garment from being directly in the line of sight of a buyer; installing a second visual representation of a second distinctive feature of a second garment in a second garment identification section of the display system; and suspending a second garment on a hanger in a second garment receiving section of the garment display system, the second garment being in a position which precludes the second distinctive feature of the second garment from being directly in the line of sight of a buyer. 